Management Team

Cardinal Peak's management team possesses broad and deep engineering expertise and experience. Our managers oversee a staff of more than 70 senior technology professionals who work closely with our customers to ensure a high degree of satisfaction.

Most engagements begin with a high-level consultation by one or more of our senior engineering managers. We frequently help clients define requirements, address technical feasibility, and understand the level of investment required to develop a given feature set on the desired schedule. Our engineering managers are extremely comfortable working at the intersection of business needs and deep engineering challenges.

Mark Carrington

CEOMark Carrington has over 25 years of leadership experience in sales, growth strategies/execution, business planning and process improvement. Mark joined Cardinal Peak as Chief Executive Officer in 2017. Most recently, he was vice president of worldwide sales at Magnum Semiconductor, which was recently acquired by GigPeak. He obtained his B.S. degree with a concentration in Marketing from California State University, Sacramento and his MBA with a concentration in MIS & Finance in Computer Sciences from Penn State University.

Chad Scates

Senior VP, Engineering
Chad Scates has significant experience managing software development teams and developing GUI-intensive applications in a cross-platform environment (Windows, Linux, Solaris, Irix). Chad joined Cardinal Peak in 2004. He previously served as Director of Application Development at Green Mountain Geophysics, where he led a team in implementing interactive user interfaces for scientific analysis. Chad holds a BS in computer science from the University of Colorado at Boulder.Resume (PDF) | Blog posts

Bernard Vachon

Director, Embedded Software Engineering
Bernard Vachon has more than 19 years of experience developing scalable embedded software, with a focus on telecommunications and multimedia protocols. His strengths include Linux, C, and C++, as well as significant experience managing engineering projects. Prior to joining Cardinal Peak in 2009, Bernard worked for nine years at Carrier Access (now part of Dell Computer). He holds a M.Eng. in Engineering Management from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a B.Eng. in Computer Engineering from McGill University.Resume (PDF) | Blog posts

Kevin Courter

Director, Mobile EngineeringKevin Courter has been delivering design-centered Android- and iOS-based native mobile solutions for over five years. After joining Cardinal Peak in 2015, much of Kevin's focus here has been on IoT and connected device applications. Prior to mobile application consulting, Kevin worked in both the aerospace and medical device industries on projects ranging from spacecraft simulation to cell-sorting control algorithms. He holds an MSEE and a dual BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia.Resume (PDF)

Erin Lewis

Director, Financial OperationsErin comes to Cardinal Peak with 20 years of experience in Operations, Finance, HR and Contracting from both the Fortune 500 and Start-up world. Wearing many hats, she applies both a scrappy can-do attitude and process rigor to the team as we grow and take on some of the most exciting engineering projects our customers can think up! Erin has a Masters in Engineering from Georgia Tech, and an MBA from University of Michigan.

Howdy Pierce

Founder, Chairman
Howdy Pierce's technical background is in multimedia systems, software engineering and operating systems. Howdy founded Cardinal Peak with Mike Perkins in 2002. From 1999 to 2002, Howdy co-founded and served as CEO of Vantum Corporation, a venture-backed startup addressing the market for networked video for enterprise applications: training, meeting recording, video documentation and video surveillance. The company's Video Appliance product was awarded Best of Show at its debut at Networld+Interop in May 2001 and received strong positive reviews in several industry trade magazines. Prior to Vantum, Howdy was employed at DiviCom, where he held senior management roles in engineering and system integration. Earlier, he served in engineering management and engineering roles at Taligent, the Santa Cruz Operation, and Microsoft. Howdy holds a BS in mathematics and writing from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Computer Science Department at the University of Colorado.Resume (PDF) | Blog posts

Mike "Perk" Perkins, Ph.D.

Founder, Chairman
Mike Perkins's technical background is concentrated in digital signal processing algorithms, video compression and communications theory. Perk co-founded Cardinal Peak in 2002. From 1999 to 2002, Perk co-founded and served as VP of Engineering of Vantum Corporation, where he led the on-schedule and on-budget development of the company's award-winning MPEG-over-IP product line. Prior to starting Vantum, he co-founded DiviCom, where he served as Director of Engineering for video algorithm research, and later as Director of Engineering for IP over cable and satellite products. Previously, Perk served as staff engineer at Scientific-Atlanta, acting as SA's internal expert on digital media compression. Perk was an active participant on the MPEG-2 standards committee and the ATM Forum; his work has resulted in numerous patents and publications. Perk holds a PhD and an MS in electrical engineering and an MS in statistics from Stanford University, as well as a BS in electrical engineering from Kansas University.Resume (PDF) | Blog posts

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We rely on Cardinal Peak for their ability to bolster our patent licensing efforts with in-depth technical guidance. They have deep expertise and they’re easy to work with.

Diego deGarridoSr. Manager, LSI

Cardinal Peak has a strong technology portfolio that has complemented our own expertise well. They are communicative, drive toward results quickly, and understand the appropriate level of documentation it takes to effectively convey their work. In…

Jason DamoriDirector of Engineering, Biamp Systems

We asked Cardinal Peak to take ownership for an important subsystem, and they completed a very high quality deliverable on time.

Matt CowanChief Scientific Officer, RealD

Cardinal Peak’s personnel worked side-by-side with our own engineers and engineers from other companies on several of our key projects. The Cardinal Peak staff has consistently provided a level of professionalism and technical expertise that we…

Sherisse HawkinsVP Software Development, Time Warner Cable

Cardinal Peak was a natural choice for us. They were able to develop a high-quality product, based in part on open source, and in part on intellectual property they had already developed, all for a very effective price.

Bruce WebberVP Engineering, VBrick

We completely trust Cardinal Peak to advise us on technology strategy, as well as to implement it. They are a dependable partner that ultimately makes us more competitive in the marketplace.

Brian BrownPresident and CEO, Decatur Electronics

The Cardinal Peak team started quickly and delivered high-quality results, and they worked really well with our own engineering team.

Charles CorbalisVP Engineering, RGB Networks

We found Cardinal Peak’s team to be very knowledgeable about embedded video delivery systems. Their ability to deliver working solutions on time—combined with excellent project management skills—helped bring success not only to the product…

Ralph SchmittVP, Product Marketing and Engineering, Kustom Signals

Cardinal Peak has provided deep technical insights, and they’ve allowed us to complete some really hard projects quickly. We are big fans of their team.

Scott GarlingtonVP Engineering, xG Technology

We’ve used Cardinal Peak on several projects. They have a very capable engineering team. They’re a great resource.

Greg ReadSenior Program Manager, Symmetricom

Cardinal Peak has proven to be a trusted and flexible partner who has helped Harmonic to deliver reliably on our commitments to our own customers. The team at Cardinal Peak was responsive to our needs and delivered high quality results.

Alex DerechoVP Professional Services, Harmonic

Yonder Music was an excellent collaboration with Cardinal Peak. Combining our experience with the music industry and target music market, with Cardinal Peak’s technical expertise, the product has made the mobile experience of Yonder as powerful as…

Adam Kidronfounder and CEO, Yonder Music

The Cardinal Peak team played an invaluable role in helping us get our first Internet of Things product to market quickly. They were up to speed in no time and provided all of the technical expertise we lacked. They interfaced seamlessly with our i…

Kevin LeadfordVice President of Innovation, Acuity Brands Lighting

We asked Cardinal Peak to help us address a number of open items related to programming our systems in production. Their engineers have a wealth of experience in IoT and embedded fields, and they helped us quickly and diligently. I’d definitely…